STATE OF TASMANIA v CLINTON ANTHONY WILLIAMS 3 NOVEMBER 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE GEASON J
Mr Williams you have pleaded guilty to two counts of assault contrary to s 184 of the Criminal Code.
You were 33 at the time of your offending, and the complainant, who was not known to you at the time, was 36 years old.
You reside at Bagdad with your father. You have lived there for about 20 years. The block of land next to the complainant’s property is owned by a third party, a Mr Dennis. About ten years prior to your offending, Mr Dennis gave the complainant permission to take his dogs onto the property for them to swim in a dam. He has in fact been doing this for approximately 20 years.
At the time of the offending you had permission from Mr Dennis to be on the land, and you were undertaking work there with your partner’s grandfather, on his behalf.
At about 10am on 24 October the complainant took his dog onto the land. He noticed two males and a female on the property at the other side of the dam loading wood into a ute. You were one of the men that he saw. The female was your partner. Another person, a Mr Percy, was the third person.
The complainant waved and said hello. In response you told Mr Percy that you were going to go down to the complainant and “piss him off”. You walked over to the complainant yelling at him to “fuck off”. He told you that he had permission to be on the property.
He walked back onto his own property.
You followed him onto his property, and he told you to “go away” and to get off his land. A fight broke out between you in which both of you threw punches at one another, some of those punches connecting. You both separated and the complainant attempted to continue walking away but you followed him. Another scuffle ensued. You were on top of the complainant. Your partner apparently stood nearby but did not verbally or physically intervene. While the complainant was on his back on the ground you bit his right cheek. You latched onto his cheek biting down with force and piercing the skin. You continued to bite down on his cheek for approximately 30 seconds. He was attempting to push you away.
When he finally managed to free himself, you took his phone which had fallen out of his pocket, though you subsequently returned it. You walked back to the third member of your group, and you said to him that the complainant had hit you and that you got down on him and bit him on the face. The complainant made a complaint to the Bridgewater Police that day, and went to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he received treatment for the bite.
As a result of the bite he received a visible bite mark to his right cheek. The injury was oval in shape, with pierced skin around the outside and a central area of bruising. After the wound was treated and dressed he started a course of antibiotics to prevent infection.
The complainant identified you from a photo-board identification procedure. You participated in an interview. Under caution you said that you went to the property to get firewood; saw the complainant at the dam with his dog; did not know the complainant but knew of him; told him to “fuck off”; that you hit him with one hard right handed blow and that you both went down to the ground together; that you had been punched in the mouth by the complainant, and to your back; that you rolled around a bit but you did not think there was too much in it; and said that you could not exactly remember what had happened after you retaliated. More specifically you claimed not to be able to recall biting the complainant, stating that you had never done that sort of thing before, and you did not think you would.
I received a victim impact statement, and I have regard to its contents. I note that the wound was dressed for a couple of weeks, required regular changing, and that there is a scar from the bite still visible on the complainant’s face.
I received a reference on your behalf, but I afford it little weight. I have regard to the matters put on your behalf by your counsel.
You appear before me without prior convictions for assault. Nevertheless your record is an appalling one, exhibiting a general disregard for the law. You are not however to be punished twice for those prior matters, but they are relevant to my assessment of your character and the response that is required from the court more generally to deter you from future offending.
This was an unprovoked attack. As I have noted the consequences continue to be suffered by the complainant. An unprovoked assault such as this requires a sentence which serves as a strong deterrent to you. There was absolutely no need for you to approach the complainant, let alone to follow on after him, as you did. You are in my view, wholly responsible for what occurred that day.
The sentence I impose must also vindicate your victim, and serve to deter others.
This was a vicious and unprovoked attack on a person going about his recreation. Accordingly I intend to impose a term of imprisonment upon you, though only a short one, to mark the seriousness of your offending. I convict you and on the indictment I sentence you to 3 months’ imprisonment.
I note that there have been changes in your life, not least the fact that you are now a father to a young son, and I am told that this has had a positive influence on your mindset and your behaviour. Only time will tell. But if that is so, and if you can stop using cannabis then it seems to me that you are capable of avoiding conduct such as this in the future. To encourage your rehabilitation I intend to suspend the sentence of 3 months’ imprisonment, but I do so on conditions. The first is that you must not commit an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment for two years. A further order that you be subject to a community corrections orders requiring you to perform 80 hours of community service. That order will operate for a period of 12 months.
The effect of that sentence Mr Williams is that there is a 3 months’ term of imprisonment hanging over you. If you do not commit an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment in the next two years, that will be the end of it. If you do, you may be required to serve that term of imprisonment. In addition as a condition of suspension I have ordered that you are to serve 80 hours of community service.